MANCHESTER, N.H. – Doug Emhoff, the first-ever “second gentleman” of the United States and husband to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, took a trip to the Millyard on Friday afternoon for a visit to Girls at Work Inc.
Emhoff began the trip with a tour of the space, known regionally for providing young girls over the past 20 years with hands-on experience and camaraderie through programs that teach them woodworking, STEAM skills and other activities. Emhoff was then joined by local leaders for a private roundtable discussion.
Emhoff did not take questions before the roundtable, but did provide some thoughts over the need to improve gender equity in the United States.
“You’ve got the wage cap, childcare issues, reproductive rights, all the things we’re fighting for, they’re connected. They’re designed not to be fair and they’ve got to change,” he said.
“I think I’ve heard my wife say it a thousand times, but when we lift up women, we lift up the economy and we lift up society,” he added. “We all benefit when we help women succeed and help our community succeed.”
New Hampshire Women’s Foundation CEO and President Tanna Clews thanked Emhoff for coming to Manchester for the discussion on gender equity.
“We know that women can’t be doing this alone, we know that (for) men, it’s their responsibility to show up as allies in the fight for gender equity in their families, social networks and other areas, advocating for equal pay, family-friendly workplace policies, improved healthcare, access to child care and other ways to support women,” she said.